Abel to Yzerman

It's not submission. We're not Blues fans, for god's sake. It's short-term acceptance. For a very brief period of time we've come to understand that this franchise's singular goal is to extend the playoff streak. That's organizationally. They're thinking of nothing else. They expect nothing other than just getting in.

It's why Pittsburgh landed two captains, both better than the one they already had. Minnesota improved. Columbus did and so did Boston. The Diggers hint that we kicked Jagr's tire but not hard enough. We're also reminded that the Wings committed to a youth movement when injuries hit us in February? Ok.

I call it giving up. But that's just my isolated opinion, I'm sure.

But only for a short period of time, and only in the eyes of Holland and his team of equal-voiced advisors. Here's why we have legitimate reason for hope:

There is no way Henrik Zetterberg views this as a gloss-over year. There is no way that a competitive athlete can be this close to the playoffs, and therefore the Cup, and view this postseason as a nice-to-be-here deal.

But it's not Hank we worry about. Or Datsyuk. It's not Kronwall or Howard or even the young defense. It's not Nyquist or whoever else Uncle Mike puts in there on any given night.

Three things must happen if this team is going to go all UM on us and "shock the world", and it would be a horrific shock to those who despise us, wouldn't it?

Franzen must be the guy we used to know. Actually, we never really knew him. He is the guy we know now because the guy we want him to be has only been around for rare glimpses, but thankfully those glimpses were enough for Tick Tock to ensure the guy we do know will be around for a long, long time. Who has the ability to get under his skin, like Yzerman got under Fedorov's? Like Bowman got under Shanahan's? Putting him at center, telling him to "choose a line" and then "dominate"? That's not going to cut it. The most frustrating Wing of our time, without question.

Filppula. Does he realize that if he actually performs for the next two months he can write his own ticket? If Wally plays even close to his potential he could be looking at an epic payday in June or July or whenever Gary decides to let teams other than us sign free agents this summer. I'm tired of him and I'm anxious to see him go, but I wouldn't mind an explosion of talent that carries us where few outside of the 19 of us really want us to go.

Helm. Poor, sweet, innocent Darren by god Helm. I'm telling you right now that if we get Helm back healthy and if those two fuchtards I mentioned above can play the way baby jesus wants them to? We have a shot. If we don't get two out of those three? Done like dinner after one just like Kenny and the rationalizers expect and accept.

The three paragraphs above, plus the one sentence that preceded comprise the most obvious thoughts a Wing fan has ever typed. I get that. But it doesn't make them any less critical. Mule, Wally and God. We roll with them, or go out whimpering awash in flagellation and excuses from Kenny and his posse.

It's a Live Blog, you bitches. I once called the Blues the best team in the Western Conference. Now I just call them the 8 seed, if they're lucky...just like the not so distant good old days.

I’ve always felt there was a potential book from all the absolute batshit crazy stories that used to float around aboot working EMS. We used to work 12 hour shits, four days on three days off then reverse the schedule. Cost me my first marriage… thank you God.

About Abel to Yzerman

Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that. Your suggestions and critiques are welcome: wphoulihan@gmail.com